How to create community in your yoga studio...even as a student

 

At Mountain Yoga in Johnson City, TN, we have a great community.   We’ve introduced people who’ve become friends, who may have never met any other way.  I love to hear students making plans to get together outside of the studio, or doing business with one another.  Few of us sit on our front porches, and greet the neighbors anymore, so we have to find a way to connect with others.  Yoga studios are the perfect environment.  You already have something in common!

1-Talk.  No, I don’t mean in Sivasana!  But before class, instead of ignoring everyone in the room, smile and say hello.  Comment on the mat you like, or introduce yourself.  I know this isn’t common practice in some studios, but isn’t it a welcome change?

2-Laugh.  Stop taking your practice so seriously.  If the teacher makes a joke, it’s ok to giggle.  Who said yoga has to be boring?  (Refer to the book, Happy Yoga by _______________.  He says we Westerners take ourselves way too seriously!)  You might just catch the eye of your new best friend.

3-Stick around.  Does your studio offer tea?  If so, grab a cup, take a seat, and see what happens.  I’ve learned so many interesting things from our post-practice chats!  Plus, it’s a great way to come out of a deep meditation.  Don’t be in such a hurry to rush out the door.

I can’t point you to a Sutra, or tie it specifically to the Yamas and Niyamas, but I’ve always believed that sharing community is its own kind of yoga.  That personal interaction is so lost in today’s society.  Try today to make a new friend at your yoga class.  I’m sure you’ll have other stuff in common, too.

Unsaid

Lovingkindness Mantra

Why I do Yoga: part 1

I've been reading a business book, entitled, "Start with Why".  It's been pretty powerful.  I've asked myself, "why DO I work this hard to keep up a yoga studio?"  So, the following is just the first story of why I love yoga.  Some of these will end up in our marketing materials, but it's been very therapeutic, just to write about it. 
I spent the majority of my life critical of myself and others.  There were many reasons for this, but it was mostly a lack of self-worth.  I was my harshest judge.  Anything short of perfection was unacceptable....so I was always unacceptable.
When I went to teacher training for the first time, I was so uncomfortable.  Look at these people:  she needs to brush her hair, his clothes don't match, what's with all those tattoos....Not to mention judging myself:  what will they think of me?  What should I say?  That was stupid of me.  How do I look to them?  I could not relax.
But one morning, in my hotel, getting ready to go, I looked at my messy, wild hair and for the first time, I thought "that's OK."  I suddenly realized that my yoga friends weren't judging me.  This was a major first in my life:  unconditional acceptance.  It blew my mind & opened the door for me to stop judging myself.
I have not mastered this skill.  I'm still my own worst critic.  But now that I've tasted the freedom of accepting myself, it's a part of my daily life.  And I find I can be kinder to others as well.
This is just one of the ways that yoga has helped me find my peace.  Let it help you find yours.

Yoga & Addiction

Addiction is a part of everyone's life, whether we realize it or not.  We sometimes jokingly say "I'm addicted to _____", but in reality, we all know a true addict or two.  Many times, the person is just going through life, trying to hide their ever-growing dependence on whatever it is.  But for some, they've crossed over into recovery, and that's a beautiful thing.  At the studio, we have several recovering addicts that I know of.  Not everyone is comfortable speaking about it, so I'm guessing we have more.  And yoga helps.  The breathing, the being-in-the-moment.  It's all life-changing to an addict.
Recovering addicts inspire me.  They are courageous, dedicated, and wonderful individuals who fight with something greater than themselves.  And I realize that if they can use yoga to recover from an addiction, I can use yoga to recover from selfishness, or greed, or hate, or envy, or any of the other negative things we humans do.
I found this article on Kripalu's blog, and thought I'd share.  In the meantime, if you know an addict, please take the time to listen, to love them, and to help them breathe.

Child's pose

Ahhh....child's pose...
When all else fails, this beautiful, restorative pose can help heal the soul.  When the world is just too much to bear, kneel, sit back on your heels, and place your forehead on the floor.  Grounding.  Settling.  Letting the chaos swirl around you, but not in you.
This pose is a beautiful stretch for the low back, the quadriceps, the ankles, and even the shoulders, if you stretch your arms out like the woman in the photo.  But to me, its real benefits are emotional.
This winter come inside your self, inside your body, and breathe in child's pose.

New Year's Theme

I was reading email the other day, and my friend, Kim Bushore-Maki at Shakti in the Mountains had sent a New Years' letter about having a theme for 2013, instead of individual resolutions.  I immediately loved the idea.  Each year, I get so excited about the clean slate, and I set several resolutions, in all areas of life.  But then, I look back on them, and they either became irrelevant within a few months, or I simply didn't stick to them.
So, instead of specific resolutions, I have a new theme for the year:  ORDER.  If you've ever seen my office, you know what a challenge this is to me.  I've always been "the artistic, creative type"...or at least that was my excuse.  My office (despite all my attempts) is a wreck!  I try really hard to keep things in order, but there's just so much stuff, and so much to do!  I get started cleaning up, straightening up, organizing, but eventually, I get tired and overwhelmed and I give up.
But this year, I MUST make it happen.  The financials at the studio are getting complicated, and I'm so afraid they'll get out of control.  And I know I work better and feel better when things are in order. 
This is a whole new way of life for me, so if you have any suggestions or encouragement, please share!

Mindfulness & Multi-tasking?

In thinking about how much I “need” to get done today, I came up with a question: Can I multi-task and be mindful at the same time? The answer I came up with is a definite “maybe”.


The idea of mindfulness is that we are engaged in the immediate task. This moment. A classic example is that when we’re handwashing the dishes, we are not worrying about the future or the past, but are fully present, washing dishes. We concentrate on the dish itself, the smell of the soap, the feel of the bubbles, etc.

But our world is a multi-tasking world. And we’ve got so much to do. Can we multi-task, and still be honest mindfulness practitioners?

I say “maybe” because so many things in our world have become automated. At this moment, writing this post, I am multi-tasking. I’m blessed to be able to work from home some of the time, so right now I am:

-washing laundry (automated)

-washing dishes (automated-LOVE my dishwasher!)

-cooking dinner (automated-the crockpot is a modern miracle)

-free-ranging the chickens

-spending time at home, which I love

-spending time with my animals, who are happier when mommy sits with them.

But with all this going on, I can still focus entirely on what I’m writing.

I would say that we can use modern technology to allow us to mindfully multi-task. Use our machines, our technology to do what they were meant to do: to simplify our lives. By selectively using modern conveniences, we are free to focus on the task at hand.

Strength training & mental health

Mental health concerns affect us all. If you don’t have a mental health problem, you at least know someone who does. But what works? What kind of exercise helps? In 2010, the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine included an article entitled, Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training in Adults (O’Connor, Herring, & Caravalho, 4 (5), 377-96.) Following are just a few highlights from that article:

According to the article, 15% of the US population reports frequent anxiety symptoms, lasting 15-30 days a month. That’s a lot of anxiety! It’s normal to experience occasional anxiety, but this type of prolonged anxiety can interrupt sleep, cause mental distress, body pain, poor health and limitations on what a person can accomplish, physically. The authors looked at seven different studies with resistance training, and found that strength training can be a meaningful intervention for those with anxiety.

They also studied depression, with 18 studies, with the conclusion that resistance training is linked to large reductions in depression.

25% of the US population experiences persistent fatigue symptoms. Chronic fatigue is a debilitating illness. But O’Connor & colleagues found that 94% of studies found that exercise is significantly beneficial…even more so than drug or cognitive-behavioral interventions.

This same article also addressed positive results of resistance training on cognition, self-esteem, and sleep. Resistance training may also improve central nervous system functioning, which can affect mental health.

What does this have to do with yoga? An active yoga practice isn’t just stretching and breathing (although those are definitely a big part). In yoga, we use the weight of the body as resistance for our strength training. I was a personal trainer before I became a yoga teacher, and I find that my core strength is even greater now than it was then. Your practice should include a good dose of resistance training, which will help your mind be healthy, too!

www.mountainyogatn.com